


Edge of Wonderland

by TheMS_Under_Over



Series: Wondrous, Peculiar, and all around Morbid [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: At least I don't think it is..., Experimental Style, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Ocean, The major character death isn't bloody or anything don't worry, Theres a links awakening reference in there.., Uhm, Wind only shows up a tiny bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:53:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27497500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMS_Under_Over/pseuds/TheMS_Under_Over
Summary: If only he could reach the water’s edge, and see where it flowed over the end of the world. Perhaps he would find land there, and perhaps he would name it New Hyrule, but he wouldn't find the edge, not unless he stumbled upon it.Instead, he stumbled off Outset islands cliff.~~~
Series: Wondrous, Peculiar, and all around Morbid [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009479
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Edge of Wonderland

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy, I hope you're having a lovely day, and if not, I hope it gets better.
> 
> Apologies for those horrid tags, as they say, I'm bad at tagging. My last fic, Ocean in your Eyes is kind of my self-proclaimed magnum opus, so I don't think I'll top it anytime soon. This one was still a blast to write, and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Now without further or do, 
> 
> I proudly present,
> 
> Edge of Wonderland

Sometimes, he’d let the water carry him, and allow him to drift. The elders said it ended somewhere, and sometimes he thought, if only he could reach the water’s edge, and see where it flowed over the end of the world. Perhaps he would find land there, and perhaps he would name it New Hyrule, but he wouldn't find the edge, not unless he stumbled upon it. 

And he hadn’t stumbled upon it, he’d stumbled onto a sunken kingdom, a villain, and not a hero. He had stumbled as he ran, first to his house to receive a gift, then to help a fallen girl, and lastly as he watched his sister, Aryll, his darling younger sister who liked to play with the gulls, get carried off by a giant bird. He had tripped and fallen on the edge of the cliff, and his tears fell into the ocean, hundreds of feet below.

And as each drop had fallen, it had disrupted the oceans ever-changing tide, as he had forced the gods to accept him, disrupting their never-changing system.

He had lain there, crying, watching the tide washing in and out, the same tide that had pulled the kingdom down below, and the same tide he and Aryll had played in. How horrifying it was, to him, that something so comforting, so never-changing, could make everything change in a heartbeat. 

He couldn’t even know if her heart was still beating, and he prayed for his stop, just to make sure hers remained. What if the bird had dropped her, like it had the other girl? What if it had eaten her? 

And then his heartbeat too fast, much too quickly, and he wished he could sacrifice his heartbeat for hers, to make his stop, and maybe it did stop, as for a moment he saw black, and then he was falling, and the wind whistled by him.  _ Come to us,  _ it said,  _ you are the Windwaker, and for that, you shall fight.  _

He watched as the girl and the other pirates ran to the edge of the cliff, horror on their faces. She extended her arm, too late, much too late, and he extended his and watched as she grew smaller and smaller. 

He retracted his arm and wiped his eyes. The tears never stopped, and continuously poured over the edges of his face, wetting his hair and tunic. His tunic had already been wet, hit by the salty ocean water, and drenched in his sweat, and now with his tears. 

_ I wonder…  _ he thought,  _ If I cry enough, will I cry the whole sea?  _ And he had a feeling that was how the Great Sea was created, someone had been so upset, so sad, that they had cried more than a river, and had sunk Hyrule. What could make someone so sad? He wondered, not worried by the fast-approaching water. Had something of theirs been taken, like his sister? Or had something bad happened?

He wouldn’t know, he couldn’t know, he  _ shouldn’t  _ know, as he was just a child. But the Hero of Time had been a child too, younger than he was, and he had to question.  _ Did he enjoy being the hero? Did he really wear green? And why, why was a boy so young saddled with a kingdom's mistakes, held down and forced to grow up much too fast? _

If he was a hero, would he have to grow up fast like the Hero of Time? Or would he be able to stay joyful, and filled with wonder?

And then he wondered again, why was he wondering? He had no time left, he had fallen from Outsets edge, and he wouldn’t survive the impact. He would never see Aryll again, or grandma, or even the funny Rito postman. 

But the wind spoke softly in his ears, all around him.  _ Do not worry, no harm will befall the Windwaker,  _ and he felt comforted and closed his eyes. The wind let out a soft puff of air, like a sad sigh, and dissipated around him. 

A jolt went through him, and he gasped, feeling the cold water surrounding him. He quickly sunk, paralyzed by the shock, by the fall, and the water entered his lungs and he ceased to breathe. 

~~~~

Maybe in another life, he would’ve been a hero, or perhaps a sailor, and maybe, just maybe, he would’ve found the edge of the water on his own.

~~~~

They had hoisted him out, with a Rito hookshot, the next morning. Expecting a battered, bloated corpse, they had almost dropped him back in. He looked pristine, like he was only sleeping, like he had been the day before on the lookout. And as they had placed him on the casket (which had been far too big, much too big for a child.) the wind had roared, pushing people away from him. 

_ It’s Zephos!  _ One of the superstitious pirates yelled  _ he’s come to deliver his wrath!  _

The people of Outset panicked, why would Zephos care so much about a child? Was the child supposed to be his priest or his sacrifice? The wind suddenly died down to a small breeze and circled the child. It flowed under his tunic, drying the vibrant blue. It tousled his hair like a loving parent or mentor, and it finally picked up a hibiscus on it’s current and slipped it behind the boy's ear. The boy looked like he was merely dreaming.

_ Perhaps another him was dreaming of eggs on mountains and singing red-haired girls, but he wouldn’t know.  _

The people stood, shocked, confused, and scared. One man called out,  _ We must continue the service! It’ll please the gods!  _ And so they did. 

Flowers were placed around him, and his casket was moved to a small red boat. It was the nicest boat on the island, and no one was sure where it had come from, but it felt right, with its lion-like features and might. 

They had let it float away after the sunset, when the odd time of twilight had started. The little boat floated and drifted far from the island, and soon enough the people saw no more of it. 

And as it drifted, the winds guided its path, pushing at the sails and rudder, and willing the sea to move it faster. Soon enough, they had reached the water’s edge. The boat had stopped before the great falls, and watched as the boy in the casket fell off, down the edge of the waters. 

And as he had known, he hadn’t found it, but he had stumbled upon it, by stumbling off the cliff to his unfortunate fate. 

~~~~

The winds were saddened, he wasn’t supposed to die then. He was meant to find lost treasure, galavant with pirates, and meet others like him. He was meant to take up the name,  _ Wind,  _ his title, his power, and yet he couldn’t. 

His fate was cut, snipped too quickly, the fates not giving him a chance. 

~~~~

_ And in another place, another time, a boy would awake from a nightmare of falling, surrounded by trees, in a world that is not his own. And he would smile, and wonder if there was another him, in another time, in another place.  _

~~~~


End file.
